The 2014 R&B category is much more diverse than the 2013 nominees, which featured a heavy influx of male artists such as Frank Ocean, Miguel, and Chris Brown. Here’s to hoping this year’s nominees brings about many strong female winners as well.

Best R&B Performance (Category 17)
Tamar Braxton – “Love And War”
Anthony Hamilton – “Best Of Me”
Hiatus Kaiyote (feat. Q-Tip) – “Nakamarra”
Miguel feat. Kendrick Lamar – “How Many Drinks?”
Snarky Puppy (feat. Lalah Hathaway) – “Something”

Who Should Win: Hiatus Kaiyote’s “Nakamarra”

Who Will Win: Tamar Braxton’s “Love And War”

Although Hiatus Kaiyote’s rise to fame has been particularly impressive, Tamar’s reality show stunts will be more than enough for her to win this category.

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Best Traditional R&B Performance (Category 18)
Gary Clark Jr. – “Please Come Home”
Fantasia – “Get It Right”
Maysa – “Quiet Fire”
Gregory Porter – “Hey Laura”
Ryan Shaw – “Yesterday”

Who Should Win: Gregory Porter’s “Hey Laura”

Who Will Win: Fantasia’s “Get It Right”

I’ve become a huge Gregory Porter fan over the last year, which is why I’m happy that he’s being recognized. But Fantasia’s ‘Side Effects Of You’ is one of the best R&B albums in a long time, and deserves much more recognition.

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Best R&B Song – Songwriter’s Award (Category 19)
Anthony Hamilton – “Best Of Me”
Songwriters: Anthony Hamilton, Jairus Mozee
Tamar Braxton – “Love And War”
Songwriters: Tamar Braxton, Darhyl Camper, Jr., LaShawn Daniels, and Makeba Riddick
PJ Morton (feat. Stevie Wonder) – “Only One”
Songwriters: PJ Morton
Justin Timberlake – “Pusher Love Girl”
Songwriters: James Fauntleroy, Jerome Harmon, Timothy Mosley, and Justin Timberlake
Fantasia feat. Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliott – “Without Me”
Songwriters: Fantasia Barrino, Missy Elliott, Al Sherrod Lambert, Harmony Samuels, and Kyle Stewart

Who Should Win: Fantasia’s “Without Me”

Who Will Win: Justin Timberlake’s “Pusher Love Girl”

There’s not much songwriting expertise behind Fantasia’s “Without Me” when compared to Justin’s “Pusher Love Girl”, but both songs are equally worthy of Grammys in completely different categories.

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Best Urban Contemporary Album – Category 20
Tamar Braxton – ‘Love And War’
Fantasia – ‘Side Effects Of You’
Salaam Remi – ‘One: In The Chamber’
Rihanna – ‘Unapologetic’
Mack Wilds – ‘New York: A Love Story’

Who Should Win: Mack Wilds’ ‘New York: A Love Story’

Who Will Win: Fantasia’s ‘Side Effects Of You’

Mack Wilds’ debut is particularly impressive, but in terms of overall quality, Fantasia’s ‘Side Effects Of You’ trumps every album in the entire R&B field this year.

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Best R&B Album – Category 21
Faith Evans – ‘R&B Divas’
Alicia Keys – ‘Girl On Fire’
John Legend – ‘Love In The Future’
Chrisette Michele – ‘Better’
TGT – ‘Three Kings’

Who Should Win: Faith Evans’ ‘R&B Divas’

Who Will Win: John Legend’s ‘Love In The Future’

The ‘R&B Divas’ compilation album is a great album to piggyback off the series of the same name, but John Legend and Kanye’s urban collaborations on ‘Future’ are each Grammy-worthy.